Effects Of Positive Empathy Traits On Interpersonal Emotion Regulation And Visual Processing Of Emotional Information

Positive empathy is a new field in empathy studies,and has gradually become a hot issue in empathy research in domestic and abroad.Previous studies have shown that there is considerable overlap between positive empathy and negative empathy on the basis of cognitive neural network,but positive empathy shows unique characteristics different from negative empathy in social behaviors and information processing.Positive empathy is closely related to the establishment of good interpersonal relationships and the maintenance of positive emotions,and has an important impact on the information processing of emotional information.On the basis of previous studies,this study intends to explore the mechanisms of positive empathy on interpersonal intimacy and positive emotion,as well as the information processing characteristics of positive empathy among college students.In study 1,a questionnaire survey was conducted among 300 college students to investigate the relationship between positive empathy and interpersonal intimacy,and to explore the influence mechanism of positive empathy on interpersonal intimacy at the level of psychological measurement.In study 2,1156 college students were surveyed by a questionnaire to investigate the relationship between positive empathy and implicit or explicit positive emotions,and to explore the influence mechanisms of positive empathy on implicit or explicit positive emotions at the level of psychological measurement.In study 3,we combined the 2-back paradigm with the eye-tracking technique to investigate the differences between the high-score group of positive empathy and the low-score group of positive empathy in the task of working memory updating of emotional information,in order to further reveal the information processing characteristics of positive empathy in working memory of effective information.In study 4,we combined the negative priming paradigm with the eye-tracking technique to investigate the differences between the high-score group of positive empathy and the low-score group of positive empathy in the negative priming task,in order to further reveal the information processing characteristics of the attentional inhibition of irrelevant information by positive empathy.The results are as follows:(1)Positive empathy has a significantly positive effect on interpersonal intimacy,positive /negative emotion interpersonal tendency plays a partial mediating role between positive empathy and interpersonal intimacy,and extroversion / conscientiousness has a moderating effect on the indirect path of positive empathy influencing interpersonal intimacy.(2)Positive empathy has a significant positive effect on both implicit and explicit positive emotions,but its mechanisms of them are relatively separate.The interpersonal emotion regulation strategy is the mediating variable of positive empathy and the implicit positive emotion relationship,and Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal can moderate this mediating effect.While Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal is the mediating variable of positive empathy and the explicit positive emotional relationship,and the interpersonal emotion regulation strategy can regulate this mediating effect.(3)The information processing characteristics of working memory of effective information are as follows: the accuracy of working memory updating of emotional words was higher than that of emotional faces,and the reaction time of working memory updating of emotional words was shorter than that of emotional faces,and the eye movement indices showed consistent results,which indicated that the working memory updating of emotional words was easier than the working memory updating of emotional faces.Compared with the low-score group of positive empathy,the high-score group of positive empathy had stronger working memory updating of positive emotional information;compared with the high-score group of positive empathy,the low-score group of positive empathy was better at the cognitive processing of negative emotional information.The results showed that the high-score group of positive empathy had stronger working memory of positive effective information,while the low-score group of positive empathy had stronger working memory of negative effective information.(4)The information processing characteristics of attentional inhibition of irrelevant information are as follows: the participants had certain inhibition to distracted stimulus of happy/ angry face;when the distracted stimuli was a happy face,the high-score group of positive empathy had better inhibition,and the negative priming effect of happy face on the high-score group of positive empathy was significantly higher than that on the low-score group of positive empathy.When the distracted stimuli was an angry face,the low-score group of positive empathy had better inhibition,the negative priming effect of angry faces on the low-score group of positive empathy tent to be higher than that on the high-score group of positive empathy.The results showed that the high-score group of positive empathy had stronger attentional inhibition of positive irrelevant information,and the low-score group of positive empathy had stronger attentional inhibition of negative irrelevant information.To sum up,in interpersonal communication and emotion regulation,positive empathy can increase interpersonal intimacy and moderate positive emotions,and interpersonal emotion regulation tendency and strategies,stable extroversion / conscientiousness of personality traits and Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal play a certain role in promoting them.In the processing of emotional information,positive empathy shows unique information processing characteristics.It is because of the better inhibition of irrelevant information,thus reducing the interference of irrelevant information,that we can better process effective information.The high-score group of positive empathy is better at processing positive emotional information,and the low-score group of positive empathy is better at processing negative emotional information,which also provides the evidence and support of eye movement technology on the characteristics of positive empathy in interpersonal communication and emotional regulation.